While we highly recommend using the Titan 300 Flow Sensors with your Brewskey box, we know that it might be a bit pricy for some budgets. We want to make Brewskey as accessible as we can so we have put together a short shopping list and instructions on how to set things up.
If you start with this basic set of parts, you can add new taps to your setup for less than $10 a tap. Putting everything together isn’t complicated and doesn’t require technical savvy.
**Update** We did a bit more digging and found a new flow sensor that is made with a material that should be food safe. We ordered a few of these to test ourselves!
Here’s the parts list for this setup:
| Part | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Flat Patch Cable | 1 | $0.96 |
| RJ45 Ethernet Connector Breakout Board | 1 | $2.48 |
| 5V USN-HS06PA-1 6mm Hose Barb End Water flow Sensor (max 3.5 L/s) Make sure you get the 5v version with any plug. |
1 | $5.25 |
| Total | $8.69 | |
Here’s the original setup we posted about for a single tap setup. We’ve validated and tested that this will work with Brewskey but recommend going with the new sensor we found:
| Part | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Flat Patch Cable | 1 | $0.96 |
| RJ45 Ethernet Connector Breakout Board | 1 | $2.48 |
| 1/2″ fpt X 1/4″ hose barb poly adapter | 2 | $1.54 |
| 1/2″ Water Flow Sensor Switch Hall Effect Flow Meter | 1 | $2.43 |
| Total | $8.95 | |
* We recommend you also use some Thread Sealing Tape when connecting the barb hose. This will help prevent leaks.
The hardest (easy) part of this will be wiring the flow sensor to the RJ45 Ethernet Connector Breakout Board. If you follow the following wiring guide, you should be fine:
| Pin | Color (typical) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Orange | +5V |
| 5 | Blue/White | GND |
| 6 | Green | Flow sensor – signal |
In this case, you wire the flow sensor as follows:
- Red goes to pin 2
- Black goes to pin 5
- Yellow goes to pin 6. Depending on the flow sensor you buy, this color may be different.
Once the thing is wired, you just follow the normal Brewskey install instructions.
If you run into any issues, feel free to contact us and ask questions.
In order to stay within the operating range of the new flow sensor (0.15-1.5L/min), the fastest one could pour a 12 oz beer is 15 seconds (equal to 1.44 L/min). I typically pour a 12 oz beer in <8 seconds which is a flow rate of 2.7 L/min and greatly exceeds the specifications of the sensor.
Thanks for the call out. We’ve updated the post with a 3.5L sensor.
I purchased the sensor from AliExpress and hooked it up with an Arduino board to my kegs and it makes a 16 oz pour half foam. No way around it…
We also found a new YF-S401 sensor https://www.amazon.com/5V-24V-Flowmeter-Dispenser-Counter-Control/dp/B00LZJXY3U
I just ordered one to test out.